MATCH SPONSOR - IST IST @ististmusic
The Non-League Reds made a few changes for last Saturday's encounter with Longridge Town. Some due to unavailability and some to give players a start having waited patiently for their opportunity. It's fair to say, that the 11 who started have certainly given Manager Phil Stafford a selection headache for this coming week's game.
One of those changes was pushing skipper Adam Moorcroft up front and he immediately set the tone with his work rate. He wasn't alone, as AFC pressed well and forced errors as the visitors continued to play out from the back. Liam Paton and Tom Beckett were causing all sorts of problems for the opposition down AFC's left and Paton was denied by the keeper, having been put through on 5 minutes. Beckett also went close a few minutes later and then the home side's fast start was rewarded on 16 minutes. Louie Lancaster was given time in the centre circle and he delivered a fantastic pass over the defender's head towards Moorcroft. The skipper controlled it well on his chest and side-footed it confidently past the keeper to make it 1-0. It took just 6 more minutes for the lead to be extended, when Matty Brown played a fine pass through to Caleb Jones, who advanced into the area and knocked it past the keeper for his 16th goal of the season.
AFC were well on top at this point and they never really allowed the opposition any chance to settle in possession. Dan Mahaffy was bossing things in midfield and any attacking threat from the visitors was calmly dealt with by the defensive line of Harry Wright-Ocana, Owen Fisher-jones, Adam Sudworth and Tom Beckett. Sudworth almost made it 3 on the half-hour mark, as AFC looked to extend their lead. However, 5 minutes before the break, the home side finally got the third goal that their dominance deserved, when Caleb Jones broke free into the area again and this time he unselfishly knocked the ball across the area for Liam Paton to knock it home and cap a fine 1st half performance.
The visitors made three changes at the break but the pattern of the game remained similar. Dave Parkinson was called into action on a couple of occasions, in particular making one fine save diving low to his right. It was AFC who had the better chances again though as Caleb Jones was first denied by the outside of the post and then denied again when he crashed an effort from 25 yards against the crossbar. Keir Barry in the visitors goal made a tremendous save to deny Moorcroft 10 minutes from time and was called into action again a moment later, making a diving save to keep out another strike from Paton. AFC used their five substitutes during the 2nd half and they just continued to add to the home side's dominance. There was a special moment when Owen Farrington, Staffo's son, came on for the closing stages of the game, with the Manager saying after the match, "It was a very special moment for me to get Owen on. He's been doing well for the Under 21s and I got quite emotional when he took to the pitch".
This Saturday, The Non-League Reds face a tough game against local rivals and promotion hopefuls, Lower Breck. Kick-off is 3pm, so please try and get down to The Marine Travel Arena for what is sure to be a great match.
FINAL SCORE - AFC Liverpool 3 v 0 Longridge Town
LINE UP - 1. Parkinson 2. Wright-Ocana 3. Beckett 4. Lancaster 5. Sudworth 6. Fisher-Jones 7. Jones 8. Mahaffy 9. Moorcroft (c) 10. Brown 11. Paton
Subs Used - Rooney, Giblin, Skillen, Flanagan, Farrington
(Photos courtesy of Dave Williams)
Special thanks to Match Sponsors - @ististmusic - You can catch them live at the Liverpool Sound City Festival on 4th May 2025 & their Top 40 Album 'Light A Bigger Fire' is out now!
Visit ISTISTMUSIC.COM for more details.
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